DREAMers confronting deportation

On Sept. 5, President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions made it clear to the young undocumented immigrants brought to this country that the administration will no longer protect them from deportation.

Trump’s administration formally announced the end of the Obama administration’s policy known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, according to cnn.com. The administration immediately informed the Department of Homeland Security to stop the process of any new DACA applications.

With the decision to end DACA, around 800,000 people will face deportation, according to citylab.com. Of that 800,000, 10,000 graduate from college each year.

This means a huge decrease in students, staff and faculty at universities.

Multiple universities are standing by their dreamers.

Iowa State University and the University of Iowa are two universities that have decided to not stand by Trump’s decision.

On a Sept. 5, Iowa State University Interim President Ben Allen sent out a message to the staff, faculty and students which stated the university’s need to protect DREAMers, according to the gazzette.com. In the message, Allen wrote, ““Regardless of the future of the DACA program, the way Iowa State University police interact with citizens will not change.”

The presidents of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Cornell are only a few of the universities that have written pro-DACA letters and pleas for Congress to roll back the decision, according to theatlantic.com.

Not only are university presidents writing personal letters to the administration, but some are signing on for a lawsuit against the Trump administration, according to citylab.com. For example, the University of California, which has about 4,000 DACA beneficiaries, signed onto lawsuit against the administration on Sept. 8.

Other universities are supporting their DREAMers by offering free legal support to their undocumented students, counseling programs or mentorship programs.

For instance, the University of New Mexico is starting group therapy sessions for undocumented students and working to offer free individual therapy sessions, according to citylab.com. Harvard President Drew Faust announced a 24-hour hotline for any undocumented Harvard affiliate and saw a huge spike in demand. In one week, the service saw a 350 percent increase in the number of students seeking support.

One way Texas Wesleyan is showing DACA students they are protected is by creating supports groups, offering counseling and hosting forums where DACA students can learn their rights.

Even with all that, there is more that we can do for our DREAMers. Maybe it’s time for us to individuality to ask ourselves how.